Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer's Photographer Hardcover – Illustrated, 22 Oct. 2013

Gregory Heisler's book '50 Portraits Stories and techniques from a photographer's photographer', is quite a serious book about photography. The tone is set by this book being a hardback, which just feels to me a little more special than a soft back. The front cover looks serious, dark and moody (though the story inside about the cover picture is fascinating). The quality of the books is very good with high quality paper and you don't want to crease a page or do anything which might cause damage to the book, it feels like it deserves respect. The problem with this though is that it also feels that it shouldn't be opened or read.Of course a book is meant to be read, so however guilty I felt touching the book and turning the pages. I was happy to do so because the stories inside feel quite special, in relation to how to work as a photographer. The premise of the book is that Gregory Heisler discusses 50 portraits, creating a essay for each photograph and often contrasting the image, with a second image from the same shoot. The first part of each essay is about the shoot itself, telling a story as much about the photographer and his thoughts about a shoot and often the story behind it. The second part is titled 'Thoughts on Technique' which will often focus on a particular area of his set up or philosophy.I must admit that I enjoyed reading the stories about the days shoot the most, this is not to say that the 'Thoughts on Technique' is not good, in fact it is essential to understanding the photo and what goes on behind the image but the story of the shoot for me is often more fun to read. Heisler has a very informal first person narrative style of writing. This very much helps tell a story and allows him to articulate his thoughts in a way that makes the book a relatively easy read.Of course a photography book is not a photography book without the photos. Gregory Heisler is a master of portraiture and the photos in the book have a feeling of an old master, but instead of painting of photography. It is noticeable that Heisler worked for Arnold Newman but he brings his own style to his photography as well. One of the things Heisler is passionate about in the books, is the creative idea and about creating his own images. It is also very noticeable that he often uses medium or large format cameras (I can't remember seeing a 35mm image). More often than not the images are black and white but he also creates some wonderful colour images.This book, as I have said is not really a book about numbers or particular technique and unlike a lot of books where lighting is the main focus, 50 portraits is about much more than just the lighting, it is about the whole possess of creating an image, though for lighting fans, he does cover lighting in a number of the essays.So I hopefully people can tell I enjoyed the book. It really is a great book about the photographer and his photography. It is written by someone who is passionate about portrait photography and the people who will get the most out of the book are those who are passionate themselves about portrait photography. If you want to learn about portrait photography and the ins and outs of what goes on behind a photo shoot, this is a great book, well worth investing in.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for a portrait photographer. They were delighted with it! Along with the amazing images, there's also plenty of inspiration in the form of a background story to each sitting, which adds interest and insight. A great coffee table book or for anyone interested in the art of portrait photography.

This is truly an exquisite book, full of rich, vibrant and creatively shot images. The biggest thing I got from this book is the significance of rapport, trust and empathy between the photographer and his subject. This relationship and collaboration creates a space where the subject can relax and be free in their self expression - the image creator can then frame, compose and capture that magic moment. The images in this book took me by surprise, each one backed up by the context of the shoot and the techniques used to capture the moment. Gregory Heisler is a master at what he does and I am grateful that he shared his passion through this glorious book with us.

I think I've read this two or three times now. I got it because David Hobby (Strobist) had recommended it on his site.The reasons Hobby recommends it is because of the way Heisler thinks about and uses colour. When his photographs are in colour it's very rare that gels aren't being uses, however looking at them that may not be immediately obvious. He explains why he does this and how he thinks about it, but leaving colour aside for every photograph he talks about the session, what the person was like, how he related to them and the circumstances around the shoot. He then talks about why he took the photograph the way he did, the technical process, his thought process for wanting a particular photograph. etc. It's excellent.

Good !

First the book. Lovely, inspiring, great photos and text working together. No complaints at all. Sadly, as with so many photobooks, the packaging was so inadequate that the base of the spine and the jacket around that point is bashed and ripped. Why does a seller think that a stiff-ish brown envelope is adequate packing for a large hardback? I've pretty much decided to stop buying hardback photobooks from Amazon as most arrive with some damage. I'd rather pay more to buy from a bookshop and know that the book won't have been bashed to hell in the mail.

I buy a lot of photography books and mostly to learn from the masters themselves. Although his book is from one of the best portrait photographers of my time, if not all time, I just had to purchase it.Needless to say I was not disappointed in this purchase.Within the pages of the book are some pretty brilliant photos and alongside these are the explanations of lighting, etc. What's good about these descriptions are more the stories behind the photos themselves and it's enlightening to get a feeling for what Heisler was thinking at the time and how he imagines a picture.I have to say that if you are a photographer this is one of the books you should own!

As a photographer the stories behind these images are a wonderful thing. It's less of a - here's how I took the picture, camera setting blah and more about the relationship between the photographer and the sitter with some minor technical info thrown in. Best of all the 50 stories are all individual so it's a great coffee break 10-15 min read ...